Saint Zenobius () (337–417) is venerated as the first bishop of Florence. His feast day is celebrated on May 25. Life Born of a Florentine noble family, Zenobius was educated by his pagan parents. He came under the influence early of the bishop Theodore, was baptized by him, and succeeded, after much opposition, in bringing his father and mother to Christianity. He embraced the clerical state, and rapidly rose to the position of archdeacon, when his virtues and notable powers as a preacher made him known to Saint Ambrose, at whose instance Pope Damasus I (r. 366–386) called him to Rome, and employed him in various important missions, including a legation to Constantinople. On the death of Damasus he returned to his native city, where he resumed his apostolic labours, and on the death of the bishop of that see, Zenobius, to the great joy of the people, was appointed to succeed him. His deacons are venerated as Saint Eugene and Saint Crescentius. He evangelized Florence and its outskirts completely and combated Arianism. According to his biographer and successor in the See of Florence, Antonius, he died in his ninetieth year, in 424; but, as Antonius says that Pope Innocent I (d. 417) was at the time pope, the date is uncertain. There are grounds for believing that he actually died in 417, on 25 May, on which day the ancient tower where he is supposed to have lived, near the Ponte Vecchio, was annually decorated with flowers. Veneration His body was first buried in the Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze (consecrated by Saint Ambrose in 393), and was later translated to the church of Santa Maria del Fiore. In the back of the middle of the three apses is the altar of Saint Zenobius. Its bronze shrine, designed around 1440, a masterpiece of Ghiberti, contains the urn with his relics. The central relief shows us one of his miracles, the reviving of a dead child. Above this shrine is the painting Last Supper by Giovanni Balducci. There was also a glass-paste mosaic panel The Bust of Saint Zanobius by the 16th century miniaturist Monte di Giovanni, but it is now on display in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Miracles Extraordinary miracles, including several instances of the restoration of the dead to life, are attributed to him. Zenobius is said to have resurrected several dead people. It is also